The Moth to the Flame is the story of the meeting of two human beings that, like the conjunction of two planets, realigned the fates. Although it happened long ago, during another time of war between Islam and the West, this tale of an individual life fully lived is the tale of every life: Rumi's yearning for God is our yearning, his anguish, our anguish, his victory, our victory. In the tradition of Siddhartha or The Last Temptation of Christ, his story is the mythic story of the human soul.

In this first novel about him, based on original sources in both Farsi and English, we discover the key moments that shaped his poetic genius. We watch his faith tested, and we witness his meeting with the beloved, which overturned his world and led, eventually, to his union with God. For centuries, Rumi has remained as alive as Shakespeare in the hearts of millions of Muslims. Today, in the West, where he is a bestselling poet, he burns like a torch of inspiration for us all.

Connie Zweig, Ph.D., is a therapist in Los Angeles and a student of the mystical paths of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sufism. She is co-author of Meeting the Shadow and Romancing the Shadow, and author of The Holy Longing: The Hidden Power of Spiritual Yearning. The Moth to the Flame: The Life Story of Sufi Poet Jelaluddin Rumi is her first novel.